The moment the black mist completely obscured his vision, Aaron's heart sank. I'm done for. I should have used Divine Shield.
But Aaron could hardly be blamed. Aside from his lack of experience, all he had been thinking about was the chance to kill his enemy in a single blow. How could he have spared any thought for precautions?
"Come, offer your body and soul to my lord." At those words, Aaron felt an involuntary shudder run through him, every hair on his body standing on end. Then he felt something strike him, and a fear of unknown origin rose in his heart, leaving his limbs stiff.
"Come, abandon your resistance. Offer everything you have to my lord, and my lord will grant you supreme blessings." A low voice sounded beside Aaron's ear. The inexplicable fear in his heart left him no room to resist the magic within that voice. His acceptance of its words kept growing, and he was on the verge of joining the Old Gods' faction.
"Hmph!" Just as Aaron's will to resist was about to crumble completely, he suddenly heard a cold snort from deep within his mind. With it, the strange emotions in his heart rapidly dissipated, and the black mist before his eyes vanished as well.
Aaron steadied himself, tightened his grip on his shield, and backed up two steps. With his back against a tree, he warily watched the fellow holding Xal'atath.
"No, that's impossible. You clearly just..." Perhaps Aaron's inexplicable recovery had disrupted the fellow's plans. He seemed to have lost his composure as he stared at Aaron and muttered.
Having just suffered badly at this fellow's hands, Aaron dared not be careless again. He cast Divine Shield on himself and charged straight into him with his shield raised. To his surprise, the fellow who had seemed in control of everything just moments ago was knocked to the ground with ease.
What puzzled Aaron, however, was that after falling, the fellow kept muttering, "Why won't you answer me anymore? Why? After abandoning Natalie, are you going to abandon me too?"
It seemed Aaron's charge had not inflicted much damage. Rather, something had dealt the fellow a severe shock, leaving him utterly distraught.
Intent on rooting out evil completely, Aaron had planned to finish him off swiftly, only to see a layer of black smoke envelop his entire body. Aaron hastily thrust his sword forward, but a tentacle reached out from the thickening smoke and blocked the strike.
Though Aaron's sword was as sharp as ever, it failed to sever the tentacle. It cut only halfway through before going no farther. Another tentacle emerged from the black mist and shoved the sword back instead.
"What strength." Aaron took the opportunity to withdraw his longsword and retreat, casually hurling a mass of Holy Light at the constantly churning black mist. It vanished like a clay ox sinking into the sea, provoking no unusual reaction whatsoever.
"Hahaha! So what if you abandoned me? My lord still favors me. Look! My strength is now unmatched!"
"Shut up, you fraud who dares call yourself a god. I don't need you anymore."
Those roars came from within the black mist. Aaron saw a dagger thrown out of it, and then the churning mist withdrew, leaving a Faceless One twice a person's height standing there.
Unlike the smaller Faceless One from before, which had differed little from a human aside from its disgusting appearance and astonishing regeneration, this enormous tentacled monster was covered in a constantly flowing layer of black mist. That thin mist seemed to absorb the surrounding light. Merely glancing at it left Aaron somewhat dazed.
"Stop struggling!" Two of the enormous tentacled monster's tentacles abruptly lengthened and slammed toward Aaron. He raised his shield, but it felt as though two heavy hammers had smashed into him. Unable to withstand the impact, his legs buckled, and he fell to the ground.
The Faceless One withdrew its tentacles. Two points of black light blossomed at their tips, and then two black beams struck Aaron simultaneously.
Aaron felt his chest tighten, unable to draw breath. Just as he was about to pass out, a golden radiance suddenly spread over his body. He felt all the injuries he had just suffered heal completely in an instant, followed by a brimming sense of strength in his limbs.
Aaron had no time to consider where the golden light had come from. Feeling his newfound vigor, he looked at the Faceless One approaching him and acted on a sudden inspiration. He quickly rose, put away his shield, and gripped his sword with both hands. Pushing hard against the ground, he leaped high into the air, clearing the distance to land directly above the Faceless One in a single bound.
As he was about to fall onto the Faceless One, Aaron held his longsword in a reverse grip with both hands, its blade pointing down, aimed squarely at the top of the monster's head.
In an instant, Aaron descended onto the Faceless One's head. The longsword in his hands pierced its skull as though it were rotten cloth, plunging deep inside.
Feeling the force of that strike spent, Aaron gritted his teeth and planted his feet on the Faceless One's shoulders. Exerting himself again with both hands, he drove the entire longsword into it.
Seeing that all but the hilt had sunk into the Faceless One's body, Aaron released his grip, tipped backward, and fell to the ground.
Driven mad by the fatal blow, the Faceless One flailed its limbs wildly, making the ground tremble continuously. Watching it stomp about, Aaron tried to get out of the way, only to discover that his whole body was soaked in cold sweat and his legs had gone weak. For a moment, he was frozen in place.
Just as Aaron thought, My life is over, and was about to be caught in the Faceless One's dying struggles, he suddenly heard several arrows whistling through the air. In an instant, several arrows sprouted from the Faceless One's body.
"This way!" Just then, Aaron heard a familiar voice and was dragged backward several steps. Struggling to his feet, he looked over and saw Nathanos's younger cousin, Stephen. The Paladin squire was panting as though he had just been through a fierce battle. He was the one who had pulled Aaron out of the danger zone beside the Faceless One.
"What kind of monster is that?" Vereesa, who had just finished off the handful of small-fry spellcasters, ran over and helped Aaron stand, asking as she watched the still-struggling Faceless One.
Aaron was about to explain, but Stephen spoke first. "That monster from before turned into it. That fellow also summoned a smaller one earlier..."
Stephen then recounted what had happened here while Nathanos and Vereesa were dealing with the small fry. Only then did Aaron learn that while he was being caught off guard by that cunning Shadow Priest, the Faceless One the fellow had first summoned had gone after Stephen.
This Paladin squire, who had yet to finish his training, had only a pitchfork to defend himself with. Since he had not yet undergone the ritual, he could not wield even a trace of the Holy Light's power. He had exhausted every means at his disposal before finally managing to defeat that weakened Faceless One.
Then came Aaron nearly having his faction changed, followed by his inexplicable power-up and the mighty leap that finished off the larger Faceless One. As Stephen reached this part, his tone held undisguised envy and admiration for Aaron. In his eyes, Aaron was probably one of those geniuses with an exceptional gift for the path of the Holy Light.
Aaron had no attention to spare for any of that. He kept staring blankly at the sword hilt embedded in the Faceless One's forehead, which continued to emit a faint golden glow.
For some time, Aaron had been freely using the Holy Light within him despite not knowing its source. What had just happened, however, gave him more to consider-there had to be some hidden being behind all this Holy Light of his. Had that being not intervened just now, Aaron would probably have joined the Old Gods' faction.
Even so, wariness of the Holy Light's power within him quietly rose in Aaron's heart. After all, he knew that the Holy Light was not an absolutely righteous power. At the very least, those Naaru who called themselves incarnations of the Holy Light were not so righteous.
While Aaron was filled with doubt and uncertainty, Stephen noticed the dagger the Shadow Priest leader had discarded earlier and walked over.
Aaron immediately called out a warning. "Careful, don't..."
"What's wrong?" Stephen stood up with a puzzled expression and asked Aaron. He was already holding the black dagger.